Wake Forest beats UNC Greensboro 84-70

Chase Fischer had 13 points, Devin Thomas 12 and C.J. Harris 11 for the Demon Deacons (6-5), who shot 52.9 percent (27 of 51) from the field in winning their second straight game by double figures.

Trevis Simson scored 25 points for the Spartans (2-8), who are now 0-7 against Wake Forest and 1-47 against Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

Derrell Armstrong had 16 points and Kayel Locke 10 for UNC Greensboro, which led five times in the first half before the Demon Deacons took control in the final minutes to lead 38-29 at the break.

Wake Forest, which also held a 33-30 rebounding advantage against the Spartans, extended its lead into double digits in the opening minutes of the second half, going up 40-29 on Thomas' layup with 18:52 left.

The Demon Deacons went on to lead by as many as 15 points three times in the half, the last at 70-55 on a McKie dunk with 7:45 remaining. UNC Greensboro, which shot 42.4 percent (25 of 59), could get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

That was a turnaround from the first half, with Wake Forest having a tougher time than it did four days earlier against another Southern Conference team in a 79-55 victory over Furman.

The teams swapped the lead 10 times and tied things twice before the Demon Deacons finally asserted themselves in the final two minutes to take a nine-point lead at the half.

UNC Greensboro, which forced Wake Forest into seven turnovers and held them under 40 percent shooting for most of the half, last led 27-26 on Nicholas Paulos' 3-pointer with 2:21 left.

However, the Demon Deacons responded with a 12-2 run to close out the period. A pair of Harris free throws with 2:05 remaining put them on top 28-27, and his layup with 2 seconds left gave Wake Forest its biggest lead of the half.

Believe it or not, this isn't the first D.C. vs. Vegas postseason matchup

Believe it or not, this isn't the first D.C. vs. Vegas postseason matchup

THE ROAD AHEAD

In what is perhaps the most unexpected Stanley Cup Final pairing in recent memory, the Washington Capitals and the Las Vegas Golden Knights are going to make history this year.

Either it is going to be the first expansion team to win a title in their first season, or it will be a team looking to end a 27-year title drought for one of the biggest cities in the United States.

But what it will not be is the first D.C. vs. Vegas postseason matchup.

Going even farther back than the Capitals last Stanley Cup appearance (1998), the Georgetown Hoyas and UNLV Rebels met in the 1991 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Sin City took the first, and up until now, the only postseason bout between these two cities. The Larry Johnson-led University of Las Vegas squad powered right past the Hoyas in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

[D.C. sports and Second Rounds, I know right?]

Coming fresh off the NCAA title in 1990, UNLV waltzed right to the Final Four before meeting their demise against Duke. It also ended up being the last game for Dikembe Mutombo in a Georgetown uniform.

While in all likely-hood this will not be the final game/ series for Alex Ovechkin rocking the red, it may be his last and only chance for him to play this far into a postseason.

In the past two seasons, Vegas has gone from zero professional teams to having a Stanley Cup contender, a WNBA franchise, and lined up to take over the Oakland Raiders in 2020.

Now time for the Golden Knights' Cinderella story to come up a little bit short.

Looking at the list of players who made the top three teams, it shouldn’t be an issue, but these three guys got more votes than the Wizards' duo combined: Steven Adams, Trevor Ariza, and Dwight Howard. It is not surprising that Beal and Wall did not make an All-NBA team. It is odd that Beal didn’t receive a vote.